Previous Finalists

Meet Billy Bob Buttons

Billy Bob Buttons is a young talented author. On top of being a secondary school English teacher, he is also a pilot.

Born in the Viking city of York, he and his wife, Therese, a true Swedish girl from the IKEA county of Småland, now live in Stockholm and London. Their twin girls, Rebecca and Beatrix, and little boy, Albert, inspire Billy Bob every day to pick up a pen and work on his books.

When not writing, he enjoys tennis and playing 'MONSTER!' with his three children.

He is the author of the much loved, The Gullfoss Legends, Rubery Award finalist, Felicity Brady and the Wizard's Bookshop, UK People Book Prize runner-up, TOR Assassin Hunter and TOR Wolf Rising, I Think I Murdered Miss is his ninth children's novel.

I Think I Murdered Miss

WINNER OF THE UK PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE, 2014

My name is Simon Spittle and I think - no, I know, I murdered Miss Belcher. I don't carry a gun. Or a knife. Or even a toothpick, but yesterday, in French, I wished for her to be run over by a bus and, later that very day, she was. A big, red double-decker with yellow wheels and a picture of a clown on the bonnet. A Billy Smart's Circus bus.

Your child with love this book. And, to be honest, so will you.' HI5 MAGAZINE

'This is a very funny book. Billy Bob Buttons is a top-notch children's writer.' ECLIPSE MAGAZINE

Tiffany Sparrow Spook Slayer

My name is Tiffany Sparrow and my job is to slay spooks. It can be messy work, but I enjoy it. Mostly. I get to do a lot of travelling which is fun, but often just to crumbling tombs and spidery cellars. My mum was a slayer too; and so was my grandmother. I miss them terribly. They were killed, you see, by Grimdorf the warlock, so now there's only me and my old grandad left.

But the word on Voodoo Street is...Grimdorf's back.

And he's brought a few of his pals with him.

'Wonderful penmanship.' TONS OF FUN

'Tiffany is the sort of girl every girl wants to be. Cool, funny and a scythe-weilding, kong fu-kicking spook slayer.'' SCHOOL NEWS

Muffin Monster

When Albert's grandad asks Albert to help him in his muffin shop, he's over the Moon. But there's a problem. A big, slimy problem. There's a monster in the cellar and he's a big fan of all things sweet!

'If you enjoy Roald Dahl's books, you'll enjoy this.' BOOKS 4 KIDS

'Fuuny bits, thrills and a hefty dash of the absurd. Wonderful stuff!' ECLIPSE

Tor Assassin Hunter

The year is 1870. Major Tor, a mercenary and deadly sniper, is called from battle to stop Locust, a SWARM assassin who is plotting to murder the King of Sweden.From the rubble and watery craters of France to the shadowy corridors of Stockholm's old castle, Tor must discover who the assassin is and put a stop to his, or her plan to throw a country into a barbaric and bloody war.

Accompany him if you dare into a world of bayonets and bullets, where the enemy's sword is forever chasing your shadow.

The Gullfoss Legends

Over a century ago, a twelve year old girl walked 120 kms to Reykjavik to persuade the King to help her. Her journey lasted two weeks; two weeks of wild snow storms, skin-blistering winds and deadly clouds of volcanic ash. This is her story.

The British plan to put a dam on Gullfoss, a magnificent waterfall in Iceland, but Sigridur plans to stop them. Setting off to see the King, she must face scalding pools of hot mud, a scary wolf-man and the most evil of assassins, the ruthless Scarecrow, who must stop her at all costs.

Based on the Gullfoss Legends, this is a story for anybody who has battled but refused to give up.

Galibrath's Will BOOK ONE

Galibrath's Will BOOK ONE (Felicity Brady and the Wizard's Bookshop)

The day Felicity Brady discovers The Wishing Shelf, a magic bookshop in the small town of Twice Brewed, is the day her life is altered forever. A helpful clock and a mulish door allow her to travel to different lands where she plays Vipers and Stepladders, pilots flying carpets and visits creepy Cauldron City. There's a krakor thunder serpent, waltzing books, even a copy of 'Be Warty, Be Proud' sitting on the cistern in the loo. Armed with an inquisitive mind and the magical skills of a wet doyley, Felicity must face monster dorfmorons, woolly glumsnappers and powerful wizards. But lurking in the shadows, watching her, is the most evil monster of them all, the terrible shubablybub. And she keeps reminding everybody, 'In school, they only teach us netball.' Life is very complicated for Felicity Brady.

Articulus Quest BOOK TWO

Articulus Quest BOOK TWO (Felicity Brady and the Wizard's Bookshop)

FINALIST IN THE RUBERY BOOK AWARDS 2011

If you don't go, Felicity; if you don't get Articulus back, there will be a terrible war in this land.' The gargoyle rested his claw on her shoulder. 'Galibrath left the book to you and now it is up to you to find it and return it to The Wishing Shelf. Remember, in the wrong hands it could destroy...everything.

Crowls Creepers BOOK FIVE

Crowls Creepers BOOK FIVE (Felicity Brady and the Wizard's Bookshop)

FINALIST IN THE RUBERY BOOK AWARDS 2011

It was night, the bats in the rafters awake and watchful. But all seemed still, most of the monsters asleep or on sentry duty by the bookshop door. But not everything slept. Hidden in the deepest corner of The Wishing Shelf, over a hundred books had gathered, answering the call to arms.

The 'Witch Spotter's' book, perched on a top shelf, hushed them. 'Brothers and sisters," she whispered, "wickedness has invaded our home. Queen Blasthoof is slowly destroying our papery world, but not for much longer for soon we will stop her.'